- After the spread of the corona virus, health officials will attend the World Health Assembly for the first time next week. In this meeting to be done through internet, it will be decided how the world should deal with this crisis.
- But the World Health Organization's Judicial Committee will not send him to this meeting, which is one of the successful countries in protecting his people from the corona virus.
Taiwan is being praised worldwide for stopping the spread of the corona virus rapidly. Taiwan says it should find a platform to share its experience with the world.
But China, which calls Taiwan its territory, has banned Taiwan's presence since 2016.
In the last few weeks, the United States, the European Union, Japan and many other countries have supported the demand for Taiwan to join the audience on May 18.
China is currently facing criticism due to the source of the corona virus and taking the wrong step at the initial level. But despite this, China has strongly opposed it.
The ongoing controversy about Taiwan is very old. But Shelley Riggers, a professor at Davidson College and a Taiwanese researcher, says that some countries may have "lacked patience" on this occasion because the objection from China "seemed too fictitious and ideological at the time of the global disaster" is.
Why Taiwan's presence is a matter of controversy?
Taiwan has been independent since 1949. When the Communist Party overthrew the Chinese government in the year 1949, the then government went to the island and formed its government.
The Chinese government under its One China Policy insists that Taiwan legally comes under its jurisdiction and one day it will be brought under the banner of the Chinese government. If it requires the use of force, it will also be used.
The current government in Taiwan favors independence. And ever since Cy Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party took power, their relationship with China has deteriorated.
Taiwan has its own army and some countries see it as a state.
"China is clear about this issue. It has nothing to do with the subject of public health. It has a direct relationship with Taipei and President Cy-," says Driv Thompson, a former US defense ministry official handling China, Taiwan and Mongolia. Ing-wen has ties to China that deny Taiwan's sovereignty over China. "
Chinese relations with Taiwan
Under pressure from China, 15 countries have ended their diplomatic relations with Taiwan. But Taiwan has worked tirelessly to gain legitimacy on the international stage, gaining recognition from multilateral institutions such as the World Health Organization and other countries.
But it is not like Taiwan has always been outside. The previous government, which wants to have a better relationship with China, had Observer status as 'Chinese Taipei' in the World Health Organization. But since 2017, when Cy-Ing-Wen has come to power, it has not been called back.
Since then, every year Taiwan has talked to the countries of the World Health Organization and tried to join the meeting. But the voices this year in support of Taiwan are clear and loud.
Experts say that earlier other countries thought that China could not be offended for Taiwan, that mathematics has changed after Covid-19.
Professor Shelley Riggers says, "Now it is not just about the health of the people of Taiwan. It is a matter of the health of our people in our countries. So do you want to let it go like that .."
How has Covid-19 changed the equation?
Taiwan has had commendable success in dealing with the corona virus. In Taiwan, there are only 440 cases in a population of 23 million people and seven people have died. For this, credit is being given to control the borders, restrictions on the arrival of foreign nationals and mandatory quarantines for those returning to Taiwan.
This success has given Taiwan a new opportunity and reason to join the countries that decide on the health of the world.
On May 8, the US Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee wrote a letter to about 60 countries, saying that "ensuring that all countries keep global health and safety above politics has never been so important."
This letter states that China's bullying strategies have reduced Taiwan's ability to contribute to efforts being made to prevent the corona virus at the international level.
In this way everyone is put at a great risk. In such a situation, Taiwan should be given the opportunity to attend the meeting of the World Health Assembly.
Many big powers have reacted to this. These include the European Union, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. However, no one has talked about abandoning the One China policy which has put Taiwan in such a situation.
America has been supporting
Taiwan has shared the corona virus cases with transparency with the world. Along with this, we have helped other countries by giving masks etc. Even those countries that do not accept Taiwan as a nation. Taiwan has received praise for these steps.
America has been supporting Taiwan for a long time.
In such a situation, the corona virus may be a new excuse to include Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
Alexander Huang, an expert on the subject of Sino-Taiwan defense and foreign policy and professor of political science, says that the countries that were not clear about the dispute between China and Taiwan have started discussions there.
They say that these countries have seen the US-Chinese relationship deteriorating in the past weeks. But they are also worried about what will happen after the global pandemic and are also worried about the suspicion arising about not giving full information on China,
"The attitude towards China worldwide has become negative. And this is a result of China exerting pressure on its policies," says Drive Thompson, a visiting professor at Singapore's Lee Kuan Yeh School of Public Policy.
What is Chinese reaction
China has always termed such activities as external interference in its internal affairs. But this time China has increased its level of aggression and intimidation and is looking at Taiwan's presence at the World Health Organization with its independence.
State Media Xinhua has published an article specifically condemning America.
This article reads, "There is only one China in the world. The Government of the People's Republic of China represents the whole of China and Taiwan is an indistinguishable part of China."
In this article, America has also been asked to desist from politicizing the issue of Corona virus.
The Global Times, considered as a nationalist newspaper, has published an editorial stating that this situation may force China to use force which is a frequently threatened threat.
The editorial states, "This can only result in a way under which the Chinese government can consider ending the useless game by settling the issue of Taiwan in a non-peaceful manner forever."
Chinese threats
Even before this epidemic, military presence had increased in the 180-km-wide Taiwan Strait separating the South China Sea and the two countries. But the power turned into performance warnings.
According to Huang, "China has practiced bombers, reconnaissance planes and fighter jets in the last three months, and their navy as much as they had not done in the preceding three months."
When it comes to other countries, China has given economic threats.
But when New Zealand supported Taiwan's inclusion in the World Health Assembly, China angrily said that it could spoil bilateral relations.
But Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a press conference, "We have to stand up for ourselves. And a true friendship rests on an equal. This friendship should have the ability to disagree."
Professor Huang says that in the last few years, China's foreign relations have not shown much nationalism, protection of its image and no tolerance for any kind of criticism.
He says, "Because of this epidemic, China has become more vulnerable to criticism from the outside world. And it is also that China is in a good position to demonstrate its power and power."
Can the World Health Organization call Taiwan?
The World Health Organization has been saying that Taiwan's membership depends entirely on member countries. Along with this, it has also been said that the World Health Organization has spoken to the officials associated with the Health Department of Taiwan and the exchange of information is going on.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Director General had recently invited Taiwan, but Steven Solomon from the Principal Legal Office of the World Health Organization said that the Director-General can only invite anyone when it is clear that the member states It supports what is not clear yet.
But Riggers says Taiwan could have attended this meeting earlier, and other areas such as the Palestine region and the Vatican had Observer status.
She says, "We are talking about a country that is outside only for a reason."
Rising above this two-day meeting, this epidemic has given new importance to the question of Taiwan's participation on the world stage.
Until Taiwan's status is clear, it is possible that the issue of sovereignty will continue to play an indirect battleground in ongoing disputes with China. And this will continue even after the virus ends.
